Boseman, in his final performance, plays the fiercely talented but insecure Levee, crucified by a childhood experience of racist violence and dreaming of fronting his own band.

Davis and Boseman are each the immovable object and irresistible force.

Both are concerned with their feet. Levee has just spent his money on a fancy pair of shiny shoes and he is always showing them off, hopping and dancing around like a little kid.

Levee has prepared an ingenious new version of Black Bottom that downplays her slow, bluesy vocals and gives a more demanding, uptempo orchestration for the band mdmbers: Toledo (Glynn Turman), Cutler (Colman Domingo), Slow Drag (Michael Potts).

This shaddy white manager Irvin (Jeremy Shamos) and studio boss Sturdyvant (Jonny Coyne) jump at the opportunity of make it a crossover hit.

Ma furiously rejects the new version, fearing she might be upstaged by the cocky Levee who wants to use her prestige to launching his own stardom.

The only male she’s willing to showcase is her teenage nephew Sylvester (Dusan Brown), despite the fact that he stutters.

Then there’s Ma’s sexy girlfriend Dussie Mae (Taylour Paige), who is enamored of Levee.

Ma Rainey possesses the commanding talent, so everything depends on her, but the band is aware of her limited ability to appeal to white spectators.

Levee is younger, talented, and boasting new ideas about music, but he is controlled by the management, resulting in tragedy. Violence might be ignited by the band’s derision at Levee’s sycophantic attitude to these white chiefs. It triggers Levee’s own memories of racist violence and humiliation.

The set-piece speeches are contrived, but they are delivered with such powerful intensity that they ignite the screen, as they did on stage.

The film’s final scene is both grim and prophetic in suggesting how black talents like Levee’s would continue to be exploited and how black culture would be appropriated for generations to come.